Fall 2014 Media Report: Upcoming Video Games

Now, I was supposed to write about Breaking Bad after their big win on Monday night at the Emmy’s, but I wanted to finish my thoughts on my Fall 2014 Media Report that I started last week. I know this really disappoints my thousands of readers (HA!), but fear not! There will be a Breaking Bad post soon enough. As we get closer and closer to video game season, my anticipation keeps growing and growing. So, if you have a loved one that is ecstatic about video games as much as I am, then you may want to keep these games in the back of your mind as the holidays slowly creep towards us.

I tried to keep as much bias out of this as possible. For the longest time, I played on an Xbox 360, but when the new consoles were released, I jumped on board with Playstation 4. That being said, I have a roommate who has an Xbox One that I frequent, so I feel I have a fairly balanced view on the two systems. Due to all this, I tried to talk about games across all sorts of consoles, minus the Wii U because I really do not have a lot of knowledge concerning this. Plus, if you have a Wii U, you’re already playing the best game that’s ever going to hit that system. That’s Mario Kart 8 for those that didn’t know. Now, for the main event. I bring you a list of games that you should keep on your radar for the Fall season. I took the liberty of dividing the list into console exclusives and cross-platform. Enjoy!

Console Exclusives

LittleBigPlanet 3

Console: Playstation 4

Release Date: November 18, 2014

Sackboy is back, ladies and gents. If you don’t know what this means, you haven’t played one of the most fun, enjoyable, and downright groovy games released. I own LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2, and this is the PS4 exclusive I’m most excited about for the Fall. With the killer soundtrack, the sheer levels of customizability, and the brain-straining puzzles, the LittleBigPlanet series leaves very little left in the “Wanted” department. I’m sure that this next installment will be even better than the previous two. One reason I love this series is that it allows each player to do what they want in the game, and it’s a very G-Rated game. Yes, the puzzles are hard. Yes, it seems very childish. But honestly, if you aren’t unlocking your inner child every once in a while (I say at least daily), then you’ve got to be doing something wrong. Give this game a fair shot if you’ve never played. And if you don’t own a Playstation 4, feel free to come on over and play with me!

Super Smash Bros.3DS

Console: 3DS (duh!)

Release Date: October 3, 2014

Super Smash Bros. What a series. While Super Smash Bros. Brawl was my least favorite out of the series so far, I have a feeling that this one will change it for me. My Nintendo 3DS XL was mainly used for Pokémon: X, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, but I have a feeling that this bad boy will make me change my behavior. Nintendo 64 Smash is still my favorite, but we will see how this one fares. One thing that I’m noticing looks to be a tad different is the amount of mini-games outside of the usual kill-everyone-in-sight mode. That will certainly allow for a different level of replay value, but I know that I’ll be spending the majority of my time trying to kick some butt. There’s another thing that I’m pumped about, and that’s the ability for me to play wirelessly with my friends. While you could do this with the Wii in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the matchmaking was acceptable, at best. I’m hoping that they fixed the issues we experienced towards the beginning, and I can’t wait to take the stage come October 3rd!

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Console: Xbox One

Release Date: November 11, 2014

Yes. All of that trailer is yes. I remember getting an Xbox back in the day just for Halo: Combat Evolved. The series has evolved so much since then, and we, as gamers, get the chance to relive it from beginning to end. 343 Industries is bringing us the culmination of everything that they and Bungie have worked on since day one. Players can play through Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4, all in one package. Now, that’s all well and good, but Halo would not be Halo without the multiplayer piece. Every single map released for all four games are going to be available in multiplayer modes, and they are even remastering all of Halo 2. While I initially thought that Halo 5 was going to be the next installment this year, I will take this as a consolation prize. I mean, over 100 multiplayer maps across matchmaking with all my friends on the Xbox One? That’s what some may call overkill (hehehe Halo players will see what I did there), but I’m jazzed, and my roommate and I will play this non-stop when it is released. If you own an Xbox One, and you don’t end up purchasing this, there’s something mighty wrong with you, friend.

Cross-Platform

The Evil Within

Consoles: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC

Release Date: October 14, 2014

Shinji Mikami, the mastermind behind the better Resident Evil games, is back, once more, to direct this wonderfully graphic game. I get chills just watching some of those scenes. There are some gameplay videos out there that give me the heebie-jeebies. The verdict is still out on whether or not I will purchase this game, as I have only finished a few survival horror games. I’ve tried my hands at games like Amnesia or Outlast, but my problem with those is that you never have a weapon. At least with this game, I think I could stand a fighting chance. Then again, The Last of Us gave me guns, but I found myself conserving more ammo than I ever thought I would in that masterpiece. Either way, this game is looking to be award-winning, for both gameplay and story. If you really want to try to conquer this game, be my guest. Maybe I’ll decide when it comes closer to release date.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Consoles: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC

Release Date: November 4, 2014

“Oh, no, another Call of Duty game.” I’m sure that was you before watching that trailer. I’ll be honest: that was me, as well. When Activision/Sledgehammer Games announced the game at E3 2014, I actually rolled my eyes. But I think this multiplayer trailer has changed my mind. I really was not sold on the campaign trailer, but that’s because, outside of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 & 2, I really have not been impressed by the Call of Duty campaigns. However, the multiplayer looks out of this world. They seem to have gotten a lot of their gameplay mechanics from Titanfall, but I see this dwarfing Titanfall come drop day. There looks to be a whole new level of customizability, and I’m always a proponent of that. Sledgehammer is even bringing back the beloved Zombies to the game. This will be the first time since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare that I’m actually extremely excited for another Call of Duty plug. Let’s hope it lives up to the hype it’s receiving!

Destiny

Consoles: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Release Date: September 9, 2014

Man, oh, man. If you’ve followed me on Twitter or on Facebook, you probably noticed a few months back when I kept throwing up gameplay footage from this wondrous game. I had the fabulous opportunity to both Alpha test and Beta test this glorious game. During the Alpha (which was only open for four days), I ended up logging 30.5 hours of gameplay. While I did not play the Beta as much, I still had a great time. Even though I played so long in the pre-release stages of the game, it has been said that we, as alpha and beta testers, have only seen around 10% of the overall game. That being said, this game is going to be massive. It’s classified as a MMOFPS, which is a Massively Multiplayer Online First-Person Shooter, for those that are not familiar with game-speak. What does this mean? Imagining running through a much-deteriorated Russia, known as the Cosmodrome, chasing down a baddie for a bounty, when, all of the sudden, a random player drops in the game. This player is not your enemy. He chooses to engage the enemy, and you both take him down, and then you part ways. I have not really found a downside to this, and I can’t wait to see it in action on a grand scale. There are skill trees, weapon upgrades, dungeons, story quests, questing missions, and one huge raid that are going to be included in the initial launch. Even though there are three separate classes (Titan, Warlock, and Hunter), there does not seem to be any large disparity between any of them, which means that Bungie has done a great job of balancing the gameplay. Bungie has stated that they are planning at least ten years with this game, so that sounds like a pretty heavy investment. With a $500M development and promotion budget, let’s hope that this game lives up to its grand expectations, but I really am not worried about that.

At the bottom of the page, I’ve included both my Xbox Live Gamertag and PSN ID, so, if you would like, add me, and we can play games all the time! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my silly recommendations. When the individual games are released, I may do more in-depth reviews of each one, so be on the look out for those! Next week, I may complete my Fall 2014 Media Report with a look into upcoming music, but that is yet to be decided. Stay tuned, folks, and thanks again for reading!

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David Douglas is a Business Administration major at Georgia Tech. You could read Bennett’s bio and adjust it with descriptors like “tall,” and “hipster tendencies,” and it would be appropriate for David. In addition to sitting in his bed alone watching television, David also downloads and binge-plays any PS4 Beta he can get his dirty hands on. He then tweets about it while @’ing corporate accounts and using their hashtags.

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